BEIRUT — Lebanon shook under a new wave of killer Israeli strikes on Monday, July 17, and overnight, killing more Lebanese civilians with no sign of a let-up in the conflict that erupted five days ago.
In the deadliest raid, at least 19 Lebanese, including army soldiers, were killed and 56 others wounded in a pre-dawn Israeli strike on a military office topped by a radio transmitter in the southern port city of Tyre, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Six civilians, three of them children, were killed late Sunday when Israeli jets targeted the southern Lebanese border village of Aitarun.
Beirut's international airport, already shut to traffic, was hit again late Sunday by Israeli warplanes which fired 10 missiles on a runway and set the night sky ablaze.
The disabled airport is one of many problems facing residents and foreign nationals seeking to flee Lebanon, with the increasingly dangerous land route to Syria the only available exit for many.
Governments worldwide were also scrambling Monday to evacuate their nationals on the sixth day of the devastating blitz of Israeli air strikes.
Monday's raids brought to at least 167 the number killed in Lebanon over six days, Israel's fiercest offensive on its northern neighbor since it launched a full-scale invasion in 1982.
The onslaught has left Lebanon virtually cut off from the outside world and much of its infrastructure in tatters, with jets targeting roads, bridges and power stations.
Lebanese Finance Minister Jihad Azur said Sunday that massive damage inflicted by Israeli military strikes on his country had already cost its fragile economy more than half a billion dollars.
Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has declared Lebanon a "disaster zone" and appealed for urgent international help.
Reluctance
Solana, left, during his talks with Siniora.
Lebanese Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said Sunday that Israel showed no willingness to ease mounting tensions.
He said Lebanon had been informed by Italy that Israel had set two conditions — the release of the two soldiers taken prisoners and the withdrawal of the resistance movement from its stronghold in southern Lebanon.
Vijay Nambiar, special political adviser for the UN secretary general, called for a ceasefire following talks with Siniora.
He also called for "the release of the captured as part of a solution to this conflict," in a reference to Hizbullah's operation which took prisoner two Israeli soldiers.
Nambiar called for "the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure which must be protected."
The five-member mission, which arrived in Beirut earlier Sunday, also includes UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen.
In the highest-profile visit since the crisis began last week, EU foreign policy and security chief Javier Solana arrived in Beirut Sunday for talks with the Lebanese premier.
A draft statement, to be discussed by EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels Monday, will urge all parties to work to end escalating Middle East violence but stop short of demanding an immediate ceasefire, according to Reuters.
The text appeals to Hizbullah to halt attacks on Israeli cities and Israel to avoid a "disproportionate" reaction.
"A de-escalation of the current situation is imperative ... The (EU) Council urges all parties concerned to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of violence," said the statement.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin will also travel to Beirut on Monday to meet his counterpart Siniora as a sign of "solidarity and support of the French people in their trial, the French government said.
France, which has long ties with its former colony Lebanon and some 17,000 citizens resident in the country, has criticized the Israeli attacks as a "disproportionate" response to the Hizbullah's operation.
http://islamonline.net/English/News/2006-07/17/01.shtml
In the deadliest raid, at least 19 Lebanese, including army soldiers, were killed and 56 others wounded in a pre-dawn Israeli strike on a military office topped by a radio transmitter in the southern port city of Tyre, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Six civilians, three of them children, were killed late Sunday when Israeli jets targeted the southern Lebanese border village of Aitarun.
Beirut's international airport, already shut to traffic, was hit again late Sunday by Israeli warplanes which fired 10 missiles on a runway and set the night sky ablaze.
The disabled airport is one of many problems facing residents and foreign nationals seeking to flee Lebanon, with the increasingly dangerous land route to Syria the only available exit for many.
Governments worldwide were also scrambling Monday to evacuate their nationals on the sixth day of the devastating blitz of Israeli air strikes.
Monday's raids brought to at least 167 the number killed in Lebanon over six days, Israel's fiercest offensive on its northern neighbor since it launched a full-scale invasion in 1982.
The onslaught has left Lebanon virtually cut off from the outside world and much of its infrastructure in tatters, with jets targeting roads, bridges and power stations.
Lebanese Finance Minister Jihad Azur said Sunday that massive damage inflicted by Israeli military strikes on his country had already cost its fragile economy more than half a billion dollars.
Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has declared Lebanon a "disaster zone" and appealed for urgent international help.
Reluctance
Solana, left, during his talks with Siniora.
Lebanese Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said Sunday that Israel showed no willingness to ease mounting tensions.
He said Lebanon had been informed by Italy that Israel had set two conditions — the release of the two soldiers taken prisoners and the withdrawal of the resistance movement from its stronghold in southern Lebanon.
Vijay Nambiar, special political adviser for the UN secretary general, called for a ceasefire following talks with Siniora.
He also called for "the release of the captured as part of a solution to this conflict," in a reference to Hizbullah's operation which took prisoner two Israeli soldiers.
Nambiar called for "the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure which must be protected."
The five-member mission, which arrived in Beirut earlier Sunday, also includes UN Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen.
In the highest-profile visit since the crisis began last week, EU foreign policy and security chief Javier Solana arrived in Beirut Sunday for talks with the Lebanese premier.
A draft statement, to be discussed by EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels Monday, will urge all parties to work to end escalating Middle East violence but stop short of demanding an immediate ceasefire, according to Reuters.
The text appeals to Hizbullah to halt attacks on Israeli cities and Israel to avoid a "disproportionate" reaction.
"A de-escalation of the current situation is imperative ... The (EU) Council urges all parties concerned to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of violence," said the statement.
French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin will also travel to Beirut on Monday to meet his counterpart Siniora as a sign of "solidarity and support of the French people in their trial, the French government said.
France, which has long ties with its former colony Lebanon and some 17,000 citizens resident in the country, has criticized the Israeli attacks as a "disproportionate" response to the Hizbullah's operation.
http://islamonline.net/English/News/2006-07/17/01.shtml
